Higher Education and Civic Responsibility

It goes without saying that higher education plays a major part in shaping civic life in modern American society. Our colleges and universities not only educate each new generation of leaders in government, business, science, law, medicine, the clergy, and other advanced professions, but are also responsible for setting the standards and training the personnel who will educate the entire citizenry at the precollegiate level. Higher education institutions can also exert important societal influences through the scientific, technological, and cultural knowledge produced by their faculties. (Reprinted with permission by the author.

Student Involvement in Community Service: Institutional Commitment and the Campus Compact

Although interest in involving students in community service has been growing rapidly among higher education institutions, there has so far been little systematic study of who the volunteers are and of which institutional practices actually encourage student participation in community service. The study reported here presents some provocative new findings concerning factors that contribute to student participation in, and institutional commitment to community service. The data on which the study is based were recently collected in connection with a large-scale national study of undergraduate education that we have been conducting with support from grants by the Exxon Education Foundation and the National Science Foundation

Undergraduate Aspirations: A Test of Several Theories

Two significant sociological theories which have been invoked in research about undergraduate aspirations are tested. The data, based on a national sample of students, contain some key measurements which had been missing from previous studies as well as a series of additional control variables. In general, relative-deprivation theory receives strong support; environmental-press theory receives equivocal support. However, the results vary as a function of the particular kind of aspiration under consideration. These findings support the contention that a complete theoretical model should allow for the simultaneous operation of both theories in a complex pattern rather than forcing a choice between the two

How Undergraduates Are Affected by Service Participation

Based on entering freshman and follow-up data collected from 3,450 students (2,287 women and 1,163 men) attending 42 institutions with federally funded community service programs, the impact of community service participation on undergraduate student development was examined. Even after regression analyses controlled for individual student characteristics at the time of college entry, including the propensity to engage in service, results indicate that participating in service during the undergraduate years substantially enhances the student\u27s academic development, life skill development, and sense of civic responsibility

Long-Term Effects of Volunteerism During the Undergraduate Years

A growing number of colleges and universities in the United States have become actively engaged in encouraging their undergraduate students to participate in some form of volunteer service (Cohen & Kinsey, 1994; Levine, 1994; Markus, Howard, & King, 1993; O\u27Brien, 1993). Further, service is increasingly being incorporated into the curriculums of major and general education courses (Cohen & Kinsey, 1994; Levine, 1994). While relatively few colleges include service learning or volunteer service as a curricular requirement, the number is growing and such a requirement has become an increasingly frequent topic of debate (Markus, Howard, & King, 1993). That the top leadership in higher education has become increasingly supportive of service as part of the [End Page 187] undergraduate experience is reflected in the phenomenal growth of the Campus Compact, a consortium of colleges and universities dedicated to promoting service among students and faculty. The Campus Compact now numbers well over 500 institutions

National Norms for Entering College Freshmen—Fall 1969

This report presents national normative data on the characteristics of students entering colleges as first-time, full-time freshmen in 1969. It is the fourth such annual report developed as part of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program being conducted by the Office of Research of the American Council on Education. The major purpose of this ongoing research program is to determine how students are affected by the colleges they attend (Astin, Panos, and Creager, 1966). As evidenced by the wide response to the earlier normative reports (Astin, Panos, and Creager, 1967a, 1967b; Panos, Astin and Creager, 1967; and Creager, Astin,Boruch, and Bayer, 1968), the information provided has been valuable to those engaged in guidance, counseling, administration, educational research, and manpower studies

The First Year of College: A Follow-up Normative Report

The major purpose of this ongoing research program is to determine how students are affected by the colleges they attend (Astin, Panos, and Creager, 1966). Consequently, subsamples of the original groups of participating students have been periodically followed up. These follow-up surveys consist in part of post-tests on selected items administered previously in the Freshman Information Form and in part of items that cover the student\u27s experiences and achievements at his institution, his aspirations and plans for the future, his perceptions and evaluations of the college environment, and his educational outcomes and academic standing

Evaluation of Learn and Serve America, Higher Education: First Year Report, Volume I

This report presents evaluation results for the first year of the Learn and Serve America, Higher Education (LSAHE) initiative, sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNS). It addresses impacts of LSAHE on communities, higher education institutions, and service providers

Leadership Reconsidered: Engaging Higher Education in Social Change

Colleges and universities can provide effective environments for the development of future leaders. This book addresses the application of transformative leadership to higher education, identifies resources to use in the process, and..